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| Welcome to my Blog! Wander through worlds real and fictional, meet interesting people, visit exciting places and find good books to enjoy along the way! |
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| About the Book |
Maid Of Steel
by Kate Baker
It’s 1911 and, against her mother’s wishes, quiet New Yorker Emma dreams of winning the right to vote. She is sent away by her parents in the hope distance will curb her desire to be involved with the growing suffrage movement and told to spend time learning about where her grandparents came from.
Across the Atlantic – Queenstown, southern Ireland – hotelier Thomas dreams of being loved, even noticed, by his actress wife, Alice. On their wedding day, Alice’s father had assured him that adoration comes with time. It’s been eight years. But Alice has plans of her own and they certainly don’t include the fight for equality or her dull husband.
Emma’s arrival in Ireland leads her to discover family secrets and become involved in the Irish Women’s Suffrage Society in Cork. However, Emma’s path to suffrage was never meant to lead to a forbidden love affair…
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| Read an Excerpt |
These few paragraphs which open Chapter Two show us what life was like in one of the many factories making clothing in the early 1900s. My fictional New York factory was inspired by the real Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, and the devasting fire which in March 1911 swept through the eighth floor, killing all but one of the women staff who were locked in…
Chapter Two
Emma cut around the tissue-paper pattern and the green fabric reminded her of her grandmother’s stories of Ireland: nostalgic tales of grass meadows and trees never starved of moisture.
She pinned the pattern to the next section of fabric, but it caught a breath of air and flapped around her wrist. She looked up to see Martina leaning out of one of the windows, inhaling a lit cigarette. Smoke billowed back into the room and some of the women were starting to grumble.
Martina looked at them over her shoulder. ‘Oh, stop your moaning – you want to start living a little.’
Emma used her scissors as a paperweight before walking over. ‘They’re right, though. What if Joseph smells it?’
‘Have you seen the holders the socialites are using now? I really want one.’ Martina ignored Emma’s question and offered her the cigarette. Emma declined and Martina inhaled theatrically as the door to the factory opened and banged against the wall. She threw the cigarette outside and fanned the smoke with her hands in a desperate attempt to hide the evidence.
‘What’s all this?’ Joseph filled the doorway, his face red with anger.
‘There was a bird trapped, sir, I was just letting it free,’ Martina said.
A few of the women sniggered. Martina held up empty hands. ‘Just a poor, helpless bird, Mr Cobbs.’
‘I smell smoke!’ He pointed at each of them in turn, taking his time. ‘You all know the rules: the windows stay closed. Leave the smoking and drinking to people who know what they’re doing. Now get on with your work.’ He pulled the door to with a bang, which sent a shockwave of air across the tables, scattering patterns onto the floor. He turned the key to lock them in, as was his daily practice.
Purchase Links
Publisher’s link:
Amazon UK:
Amazon US:
Waterstones:
ABOUT the AUTHOR
Maid of Steel is Kate’s first full length novel to be published. She also writes short stories and is presently drafting a second novel.
She writes at a desk covered in to-do lists and lights candles in the hope the lists disappear in the shadows.
She lives in East Anglia in the UK with her husband where they attempt to look after farmland for generations to come.
A small, very small, dog can be frequently found on Kate's lap. Otis is her first miniature dachshund.
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| a Rafflecopter giveaway |
Giveaway to Win a signed copy of Maid of Steel, candle and lipsil
(Open to UK Only)
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I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.
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